5th grade Shoreham-Wading River novelists show off their work

PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO | SWR fifth graders showing up their books to the school board members, administrator and parents in attendance at Tuesday's meeting.

Dozens of Shoreham-Wading River fifth-graders showed up at Tuesday night’s school board meeting to show off non-fiction books they had written for a class project.

Every student in the fifth grade chose a topic to write about, researched, wrote, illustrated and published a short book on their subject. The students wrote about everything from computers to Shetland ponies.

Students have written non-fiction books in previous school years, said Miller Avenue School principal Louis Parrinello, but never on this scale.

“The teachers this year really took it to a whole new level,” Mr. Parrinello said, adding that it was essential that students were able to choose which topic they researched and wrote about.

“These kids get to be enriched and engaged, and are doing it because they’re interested in it,” he said.

Fifth-grader Aiza Naim, who was one of this students who presented a book, wrote about basketball stars for her project.

“I’m inspired by basketball,” Aiza said. “I love it a lot.”

According to the principal, the most important part of the project was that students learned valuable skills they can apply to their future studies.

“It’s not just about the end product, it’s about the process,” he said. “Children learn not just about [their topic] but how to research real, true facts.”